A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

A biweekly look at progress on the Secretary's priorities

Table of Contents 1999 Budget Agreement Two Years of College... Student Loan Default Rate Under 10% Special Low Interest Rate... Every School Strong, Safe, Drug-Free... New Charter Schools Law Online Aeronautics Projects... School Reform Video Available New Online Credits

1999 BUDGET AGREEMENT Last week President Clinton signed into law the omnibus spending bill (H.R. 4328) that provides fiscal year 1999 appropriations for a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Education. The bill includes... A $1.2 billion down payment for hiring 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size in the early grades to a national average of 18. $200 million to expand after-school programs. $260 million for a new child literacy initiative. $120 million for GEAR-UP, a new early college-awareness initiative to help up to 100,000 low-income middle school children prepare for college. A $114 million increase over the 1998 appropriation for education technology, to ensure that every child has access to computers, the Internet, high-quality educational software, & teachers well-trained in the use of technology in the classroom. This includes $75 million for a new initiative to help new teachers maximize their use of technology. $75 million for new teacher quality programs, which will help recruit & prepare thousands of teachers to teach in high-poverty areas. $491 million for Goals 2000. A $10 million increase to help schools become safe, drug-free learning environments & to help provide drug & violence prevention coordinators in one-third of the country's middle schools. A $313 million increase for Head Start. A 25% increase in funding for charter schools. Increases of $524 million to enhance educational opportunities for Hispanic Americans. The largest maximum award ever for Pell grants -- $3,125 a year per eligible student. Earlier in the month, Secretary Riley praised the budget agreement, noting that "Parents, teachers, students, schools, & communities will now get critical resources to help them make needed educational improvements." He went on to say, however, that... "Tragically, the majority in Congress turned down the President's plans to create education opportunity zones and to build, repair, or modernize over 5,000 schools nationwide.... The time to modernize America's schools is now, while the economy is in good shape & the resources are available. I look forward to working with a new Congress to get these jobs done." For the Secretary's full statement, a table (HTML & PDF) showing fiscal year 1999 funding levels provided in the new appropriations bill for Department programs & activities, & White House press releases on the budget agreement, see the Budget News webpage: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/budnews.html For details on the new Class Size Initiative, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/10-1998/class.html

TWO YEARS OF COLLEGE & LIFELONG LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENTS A new early intervention & college awareness program, GEAR-UP, received $120 million in this month's budget agreement. GEAR-UP ("Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs") will provide 2 kinds of grants: to local partnerships & to states. Partnership grants, based on the President's High Hopes for College proposal, will be awarded to locally designed partnerships between colleges & high-poverty middle schools, plus at least 2 other partners -- such as community organizations, businesses, religious groups, state education agencies, parent groups, or non-profits -- to increase college-going rates among low-income youth. State grants, based on the National Early Intervention Scholarship & Partnership (NEISP) program, will be awarded to states to provide scholarships, college information, & early intervention activities. State grants will target services to low-income students. College & community partnerships are encouraged but not required. Additional information about GEAR-UP can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/inits/GearUp/ For details about the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, please see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/Reauthor/

STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT RATE NOW UNDER 10% The national student loan default rate dropped below 10% for the first time, falling to 9.6% for fiscal year 1996, the most recent year for which data are available, Secretary Riley announced this week. This marks a decline in the default rate for the 6th consecutive year, since rates hit a high of 22.4% for fiscal year 1990. "Reducing historically high default rates," the Secretary said, "has been a priority for the Department as well as our nation's postsecondary schools." He said that the strong economy & low unemployment have contributed to the decline in defaults, & he credited efforts by all the participants in the student loan programs -- students, schools, lenders, guaranty agencies, & the Department. The national rates reflect default rates for more than 7,000 individual schools that participated in the Family Federal Education Loan Program (FFEL) & the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program in fiscal year 1996. Default rates have declined for every type of institution -- public & private, both 4-year & 2-year institutions, & proprietary schools with programs of all durations. Student loan volume has more than doubled in this decade. In fiscal year 1998, some 5.9 million students borrowed $38 billion in federal loans. For more information, including a list of cohort default rates for all participating postsecondary schools (by state) -- as well as lists of postsecondary schools subject to initial or extended loss of FFEL Program and/or Direct Loan Program eligibility & a list of postsecondary schools subject to possible action to limit, suspend, or terminate eligibility to participate in all Title IV federal student financial assistance programs -- please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/10-1998/def98.html http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/defaultmanagement/

SPECIAL LOW INTEREST RATE AVAILABLE TO BORROWERS WHO CONSOLIDATE THEIR OUTSTANDING STUDENT LOANS At the press conference on the student loan default rate, Secretary Riley noted that an important new provision in the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, passed last month, can help keep the default rates down if borrowers act quickly. "Between now & January 31," he said, eligible borrowers "can refinance their outstanding federal student loans at the low current interest rate of 7.46% by taking out a Direct Consolidation Loan or contacting any FEEL lender, which can also provide the new rate although are not required to do so. I would encourage graduates with debt to consolidate their loans now while the interest rate is low, and lower their monthly payments." After January 31, 1999, the consolidation rate will rise to the average rate of the underlying loans, weighted by loan size & capped at 8.25%. For more information, please call 1-800-557-7392 or see: http://www.ed.gov/DirectLoan/

EVERY SCHOOL STRONG, SAFE, DRUG-FREE & DISCIPLINED At a White House conference on school safety this month, the President announced $12 million to help schools & communities respond to school-related violent deaths; $65 million (for the 10% of schools with serious crime problems) to hire up to 2,000 community police & school resource officers to work in schools & to train police, educators, & other members of the community to help recognize the early warning signs of violence; and proposals for reforming the Safe & Drug-Free Schools Program. For details, see: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/initiati.html At the conference, the Departments of Education & Justice issued the first "Annual Report on School Safety." The report provides an overview of the scope of school crime & describes the actions schools & communities can take to address this critical issue. It shows a decline in overall school crime, a stable victimization rate of serious violent crime, & a reduction in the number of students carrying weapons to school. It points, however, to a growing gang presence in schools & notes that more students today are fearful in schools than in the past. The press release, executive summary, report (PDF), & a new statistical study, "Indicators of School Crime & Safety 1998," are at: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/10-1998/safety.html http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/news.html http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/safety/index.html

NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS LAW Last week the President signed into law the "Charter School Expansion Act of 1998," which... requires the Department to give priority in awarding grants to states in which the performance of every charter school is reviewed at least once every 5 years to ensure the school is fulfilling the terms of its charter & students are meeting achievement requirements & goals. will reward states that have made progress in increasing the number of high-quality, accountable charter schools. makes it clear that any charter school receiving funding under this program must be measured by the same state assessments as other public schools. provides new authority for successful charter schools to serve as models, not just for other charter schools, but for public schools generally. These schools will provide advice, materials, & other information on various aspects of their programs -- helping to start new public schools & helping existing schools learn from their successes. For more information, please see: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/10-1998/wh-1022.html For general information about charter schools, please see: http://www.uscharterschools.org/

ONLINE AERONAUTICS PROJECTS ABOUT TO BEGIN Students & classes are invited to join 3 new online aeronautics projects that are sponsored by NASA's Quest & are about to get under way. In "Free Flight Analysis," junior & high school students will analyze a videotape of a glider in flight, observing & measuring the behavior of the glider. Students will use video, image analysis software (free), & an audiovisual computer to better understand aerodynamics, and they will learn about expressing the visualization of flight mathematically, conceptually, & graphically. In "Wind Tunnel Building," junior & high school students will research & discuss wind tunnel fundamentals, including design & construction techniques. The focus will be on table-top wind tunnel models that schools can actually build. Discussions will lay the groundwork for a wind tunnel design contest, which NASA will then conduct. Participants will finalize their designs, & winning schools will receive funding to build their designs. In "Right Flying," elementary & middle school students will solve aeronautical puzzles through teamwork & testing, brainstorming & sharing design models, and building & solving problems with students across the country. They will follow scientific & engineering processes similar to those used by Orville & Wilbur Wright, as they determine which glider design produces the longest & most stable flight. Using a glider template with inherent design flaws, students will discover the importance of testing variables through hands-on glider building, test flights, & data recording. Classes will share their results via an online forum hosted by classroom teachers & other experts. To sign up, or for more information, please see: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/events/collaborative/

SCHOOL REFORM VIDEO AVAILABLE School improvement teams & district staff may be interested in "Students at the Center: A National Teleconference on School Reform," a 90-minute video featuring teachers, principals, & researchers involved in comprehensive reform in schools throughout the country, sharing their ideas about what has worked for them. The video is accompanied by selected readings & is designed to be viewed & discussed in three 30-minute segments focusing on student learning, professional learning communities within schools, and engaging families & communities. The video & readings are $23 & are available from New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. The stock number is 065-000-01160-3. Credit card orders may be faxed to (202) 512-2250.

NEW ONLINE The 2nd edition of "What Should I Know About ED Grants" looks at the Department's discretionary grants process & incorporates the latest changes in the way the Department conducts business with grantees. A new Internet directory of grants-related websites is included. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/KnowAbtGrants/ New additions to the Department's Cross-Site Index (CSI) search service include 40 Technology Innovation Challenge Grant (TICG) websites and 13 websites sponsored by the Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). Use CSI to quickly search 200+ ED-sponsored websites & 150+ education-related sites at other federal agencies -- more than 270,000 items in all. http://search.ed.gov/csi/

Have a comment or suggestion on ED Initiatives? Please send it to Kirk Winters in the Office of the Under Secretary at kirk.winters@ed.gov.

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